Graffiti

I found today’s documentary on graffiti to be really interesting, specifically the positive aspects of graffiti. Typically graffiti has a negative connotation among society. When I think of graffiti I automatically correlate it to gang activity or something along those lines. I never really thought that graffiti could be positive or could even be used in a way that is not gang affiliated. The documentary had shown people with positive attitudes towards graffiti and people who believe graffiti is acceptable. Graffiti had been depicted in several ways around the world in the documentary. In France, the youth use graffiti as an outlet to be heard. The youth in France use graffiti to get their messages across to the public. I think this exemplifies how powerful the use of graffiti can be. I also found it interesting that in the documentary there was a reoccurring theme of using graffiti to reject society. In Hamburg, someone had stated that with regarding graffiti one must “have to reject what society believes is art and not art.” From what I learned in the documentary, I think this perfectly describes many graffiti artists. They paint whatever they want so it could be seen, regardless of whether society approves of it or not. This documentary has completely changed my view on graffiti. I now know that graffiti is not just composed of gangs and names, but it is also an outlet to get messages across as well as a way of life.